food for the little bit of trollop in all of us!

Menu

Tag Archives: dinner

After a long bout with tonsillitis, I’m back! And because I feel so bad for my lack of posts, I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes with you all. One of my favorite foods ever is the cheese burger- you can do so much with it and really mold the flavors that you are looking for.

Traditionally, I’m all for your typical ground beef burger, but after experimenting with ground turkey for a while, I’ve decided this combination is AMAZING!

Add your ground turkey and spices into a bowl and mix together- I also add a drizzle of olive oil because ground turkey doesn’t have a high fat content. Form your pattie- you can do sliders or full sized burgers for this so it’s up to you! I also never try to make my burger too thick because unlike beef, the turkey needs to be cooked all the way through.

At this point I start cooking my bacon. You can either do it in the pan or the microwave, though I prefer cooking it in a pan, so I can use the grease later on to cook my onions. Also when I cook bacon for a burger, I weave the pieces together so they stay on the burger better. Once the bacon is finished cooking, add some thinly sliced onion, and in a second small frying pan drizzle a bit of olive oil and begin to cook your burgers.

When your burgers and onions are nearly finished, give your ciabatta rolls a quick toast to help stand up to all the toppings, and slice your apple and brie. Add the cheese to your burger and allow to start melting. Once everything is finished cooking, put the bacon on the bottom half of your roll, then the burger and cheese, then the apple slice(s), and then the sauteed/ caramelized onions. Generally I would serve this burger with homemade sweet potato fries or kale chips. Enjoy!

I eat a lot of chicken. And I feel like I always make it the same way- as chicken cutlets or in stir fry. I decided to experiment and play with my chicken this week after reading about a few different techniques to get the most tender and delicious chicken around. When I was deciding what to serve it with, I wanted something besides pasta or bread, so I made polenta for the first time and mixed in my favorite cheese. I was a little scared to see if it would actually turn out, but after a lot of vigorous stirring and sweating over the stove, I had a creamy pot of goodness. Check out the recipes below!

Ingredients

For the Chicken:Either a whole chicken or a few chicken breasts with rib meatolive oilsalt + pepper1 bulb of fennel1 shallot3 or 4 cloves of garlica few cups of milka few sprigs of thymea cinnamon stickwhole star aniselemon zest

For the Polenta:1 cup of cornmeal or polenta4 cups of milkgoat cheeseparmesan rindssalt + pepper

Instructions

Brown your chicken on all sides- it doesn’t have to cook the chicken significantly, it just has to turn it a nice golden brown. As you’re browning the chicken, start sauteing your shallots, garlic, and fennel in the bottom of a dutch oven (I diced my shallots, crushed my garlic, and sliced my fennel thinly). Once your chicken is done browning, add it to the dutch oven, and pour a few cups of milk over the top of the chicken- you can use part milk and part water as well if you do not have enough milk. Add your spices and lemon zest and bring to a boil. Cooking times will change depending on what type of chicken meat you go with- I used chicken breast and it was finished in 20-30 minutes. If you are using a whole chicken, you can finish by baking off in the oven.

While your chicken is poaching, bring four cups of water to a boil. Begin to stir the water to create a whirlpool effect, and slowly add one cup of cornmeal/polenta, stirring vigorously. Once the polenta is combined with the water and you don’t see it separate when you stop stirring, you can take a break. Let it bubble for a few minutes, then stir for a few minutes- it’s almost like risotto! You’ll want to cook the polenta until it is very thick- about 25-30 minutes. Once it is thick, add as much or as little goat cheese as you’d like, a parmesan rind or fresh grated parmesan, and salt and pepper. Stir all of this in well, and let the polenta rest for a few minutes before serving.

To go along with this dish, I also sauteed up some spinach and mushrooms. When serving, I scooped the polenta into a bowl, added a layer of spinach, and topped with the chicken and some fennel.

personally I hate leftovers. Which isn’t good for me considering I’m only cooking for myself. So tonight for dinner since I didn’t have time to do anything, I repurposed my green garden soup!. I added a touch more garlic, basil, and olive oil, and turned it into a pesto! I used thin spaghetti, a dollop of ricotta, and my left over sausage links and it made for the perfect quick dinner!

after spending the week in new york, i felt the urge to get back into my kitchen ASAP. so, this morning i took a walk down to whole foods and grabbed some ingredients for crock pot Barbacoa, a recipe that my brother and his girlfriend had made for me in the past. the dish is pretty simple to make, and i was so happy with the results!

originally posted on paleomg and then on cave girl in the city, this barbacoa is paleo friendly, and Whole30 friendly! personally, i wanted to make this more like a burrito bowl so i also made spanish black beans and rice with a quick salsa.

Cover and let cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Run a fork along the rump roast at the end of cooking to make sure it is done and easily shreddable.

Once the roast is done cooking:

Use a couple forks to shred the meat in your crockpot.

Discard the bay leaves.

Add in tomato sauce, green chiles, and spices. Mix thoroughly

Let cook on high for 30 minutes-1 hour.

Black Beans:Ingredients:

two cans of black beans

a packet of goya sazon seasoning

some garlic powder

some oregano

Instructions:

Add both cans of beans (and liquid) into a sauce pan. Mix in the packet of sazon, as well as a generous amount of garlic powder and a few shakes of oregano. Also add in a can full of water and bring to simmer. Cook the beans long enough for the liquid to start to thicken.

Quick Salsa

Ingredients:

A few tomatoes

Half a red onion

Two cloves of garlic

A drizzle of olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Some lime juice

Fresh Cilantro

Instructions:

Dice your tomatoes and onion. Mince the garlic and throw in the rest of the ingredients to your liking. This was very quick and forgiving to make, and you can also add in chiles and jalapenos if you’d like!

I served this all on top of brown rice that was mixed with some butter, cilantro, and lime juice!

Most days I just cook for myself, so I’ll take any excuse to entertain! I made a delicious meal for myself, my roommate, our neighbor, and his new roommate. To dress up our little welcoming dinner, we moved our tiny kitchen table into the living room, pulled out the leaves, and turned on the mood lighting! I also added a table cloth and fresh flowers with our every day plates to change it up a bit. Some tea lights were the finishing touches, and all my guests needed to bring we’re their appetites! The menu consisted of a small pork tenderloin, leek and saffron risotto, sautéed spinach, and for dessert a flourless chocolate torte. I will post recipes throughout the week so you can throw your own simple dinner party!